Fans asked for it and got it.
That’s how Mark Langill, the go-to person when it comes to Dodgers’ baseball knowledge, sees it.
The club’s historian found himself at Dodger Stadium early last Friday morning ahead of the National League Division Series (NLDS) standing alongside Spectrum News1 reporter Nikki Kay.
In town were the San Diego Padres, and Kay was busy asking Langill about the historic nature of the rivalry between the two clubs for television viewers.
“This is something everybody wants, ever since they started the season in Seoul [South, Korea] – Padres, Dodgers, Padres, Dodgers,” explained Langill, the Dodgers’ official historian, who has long made South Pasadena his home.
Opening the 2024 campaign in a faraway place, it marked the first time in Major League Baseball history that the sport was played in the country as the two-game series in East Asis last March drew sizeable crowds.
The Padres held an 8-5 series record over the Dodgers this season before splitting the first two games of the NLDS, Los Angeles winning the first game 7-5 in the best of five showdown Saturday, and losing the second 10-2, amid some dramatics. A ball was thrown on the field in the seventh inning by a fan in the direction of Padres’ left fielder Jurickson Profar, who was visibly shaken, prompting San Diego Manager Mike Shildt to gather his players during a 10-minute stoppage before play was resumed. Other objects were tossed onto the outfield grass as the Dodgers public address announcer urged those in the stands to refrain from further disruption as tensions were running high.
Kay wanted to know from Langill, who was in his usual good spirits, seemingly taking his recent diagnosis of brain cancer in stride as he looks to strike it out through chemotherapy medication, what makes the battle between San Diego and Los Angeles so special?
“No longer is it just the geography, ‘gee, let’s go down to San Diego to enjoy the Dodger game type thing,’” said the Dodger history buff. “They (the Padres) are revved up because they have never won a World Series before, and that’s the difference.”
Between Brooklyn and LA, the Dodgers have had their share of success over the years, including securing their 11th National League West crown in of the past 12 seasons and “seven World Series championships in the Brooklyn and Los Angeles history,” Langill proudly told Kay. “San Diego is still waiting for that first one.”
Which only heats up the competitive nature to another level as both squads are locked in to play Game 3 of the NLDS Tuesday night in San Diego, which now becomes a best of three game series.
Kay closed out her interview, suggesting the Dodgers in the eyes of some Padre faithful, are “the ‘Monsters to the North. I think we all love the postseason here in LA and the rivalry makes it all the spicier.”
